My Father died and his name was the only name on the deed to the house. My Mother and him were married 43 years and she lived there the enti...

Question

My Father died and his name was the only name on the deed to the house. My Mother and him were married 43 years and she lived there the entire time. We want to get the deed transferred into her name. My Mother and Father have no debt. I am wondering if she can declare the house as "survivorship marital property/community property" and do a real estate transfer versus probate?

Answer

There may be ways to accomplish this out of court depending upon the value of the property and the provisions of your father's will. Odds are, however, that you would need a probate proceeding to accomplish this transfer, depending upon how the house was titled prior to your father's death. It might be an easier estate to probate, but there are still numerous technical requirements before your mother would ever a marketable title which would be sufficiently clear to later sell the property. There are also drawbacks any time that real estate is titled in the name of anyone whose health might soon fail, since the government could then place liens against the property to pay for the costs of her care. You are in dire need of a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Do not assume that I am your attorney due to this answer, but feel free to call my office in Racine (262-633-3090 or email [email protected]/* */) for clarifications or further questions. I would not normally be taking any further action on your case without your making additional arrangements. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. View my past answers at http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/53401-wi-jay-nixon-1529181/answers.html?sort=recency , or http://www./answers/search/attorney/jknixon..